We are Building a House in Haiti!

A post from Rabbi Dena Shaffer in Haiti with Congregation Beth Israel congregants:

Shalom L’kulam (hello everyone),

It is a pleasure to be writing to you from Les Cayes, Haiti!  It took us a long time to get here (and I don’t mean the months of preparation, just the 14 hour travel day!) but we’re so glad we’ve finally made it safe and sound!

We had an early morning, gathering at 4:30 or so Sunday morning to depart from Bradley to Miami, where we than caught our connection to Port Au Prince.  Customs was a short delay and we moved through to baggage claim, which was interesting.  Here, instead of letting bags go around and around and around until you claim yours, attendants snag them as they come off the belt and place them off to the side. It took us a long time figure out why the bag we couldn’t reach, because it was so crowded, never came around again.  In hindsight though, this isn’t a bad system and it cuts down on congestion in front of the belts…maybe we ought to adopt it!  Our group leader Rob Katz said that when he was here in November, they didn’t even have the belts at all…perhaps this  development suggests something about change in Haiti.

After making our way through the extremely crowded airport (mostly populated by red-capped attendants wishing to port our bags for us…for a fee), we piled into a very small van to begin the five hour journey to LesCayes.  For these incredibly hospitable people however, one glimpse of our vehicular discomfort was all they needed.  Soon, Mitch (one of our greeters) nixed the van idea and instead herded us onto a (slightly) larger and (slightly) more comfortable public “bus.”  What a way to experience Hatian culture right off the bat!

The drive was interesting not just because of the people inside the van, but because of the scenery outside.  Driving through Port au Prince was heart wrenching.  Signs of the devastation brought on by the earthquake in 2010 were everywhere.  Buildings stood unrepaired and crumbling, makeshift stalls and shacks were set up instead in between the falling infrastructure. We saw many of the rumored tent communities where rows upon rows of temporary housing stretched on for what seemed like miles.  Many of these tents were covered with tarps printed with logos of international relief agencies or various nation’s seal’s, suggesting that they were brought to help in the immediate aftermath of  earthquake, but here we are, three years later. There was just a sense of utter impermanence.  As if January 2010 changed everything and people are too frightened to really stay put for too long, lest it happen again.  My suspicions, thoug,h are that homes and infrastructures haven’t been rebuilt, not out of fear, but simply because resources are so few and far between here.  While aid came pouring in in the days, weeks, and months after the earthquake, relief has all but dried up in the past few years and what help does come in is so heavily politicized that we have to wonder how much good it does.  At any rate, it was an important visual introduction to why we have come here and the potential impact of our work.  Safe and sanitary housing, we quickly learned, has the potential to really change someone’s life, even if only (or especially) because it restores a sense of pride and dignity to the person in need.

Finally we arrived at Pastor John’s home in what we could guess was one of Les Cayes wealthier neighborhoods.  Graciously he and his family welcomed us to their home, where we’ll be staying alongside our new, already close friends, Frankie (our driver), and Vijie (our security guard).  After choosing rooms and touring this lovely home and its many open air porches and gathering areas, we settled into the outdoor dining space to enjoy a delicious and traditional dinner.  There were fried plantains and rice and beans and meats cooked with traditional sauces.

Feeling sated we held a brief meeting to discuss the actual construction of the home.  Wow!  There is so much to do and it’s hard to envision how all of this will come together.  But Rob assures us that after 42 builds they have this stuff down to a science!  We needn’t worry, we’ll learn on the job and all will be well.

It was an early night as exhaustion quickly crept in.  We all crawled into our beds and mosquito nets, excited to get started the next day!

Monday morning came all too quickly with an early wake up and a quick breakfast.  Then we loaded up the heavy tool bags and headed into the van which would take us to the job site.  We were joined by two of the most good natured, fun people I have ever met, Emile and Watson, young guys that One Small House is training to hopefully continue the NGO’s amazing work.  They are eager to learn (sometimes a little too eager, as they have come over to me several times already while I’m in the midst of measuring a piece of lumber or starting a cut, ripped the tool from my hands and jumped right into the project themselves!), but they are great guys and very pleasant to work beside.  We got right to work, first clearing the job site, then building work tables, then starting to attach framing pieces and skirt boards to the foundation, piecing together  window shutters and doors, and cutting pieces of lumber to serve as trusses for the roof.  My vocabulary has increased immensely as I now know all sorts of construction “lingo” that has suddenly become super important (see above reference to “skirt board” and “trusses”!).  Morgan Jawitz and Jason Ashton, two of our teenaged volunteers have almost single-handed taken on the project of the outhouse.  They have framed all the walls, laid out the plywood for the walls and they’re ready to place the roof tomorrow.  It’s been very impressive and inspiring to watch them work.

As it turns out, we’ve become the greatest show in town!  The community, especially the kids have been hanging around every day all day.  On Monday they were shy, sticking mostly to the inside of the tent where Genois and his family currently live.  Occasionally they would return a smile or a wave.  But now, only one day and a few handfuls of candy later, they’ve completely warmed to us, giving high fives, repeating English phrases they hear us use (“cool” and “yo” we’ve been hearing a lot), making fun of us in Creole, and running around the job site wanting to help with everything.  It’s actually caused us to be extra vigilant about safety as these little guys are running around with no shoes. The house actually sits by a vast series of rice fields…it was quite surprising, it sort of looks like we’re in Vietnam.  But it is not uncommon to look up from from a job and have four or five pairs of eyes watching what you’re doing as they take a break from their own work in the field.

The family for whom we are building couldn’t be nicer!  Genois and Madame Genois have been hospitable and kind.  Genois hangs out at the site each day and jumps in wherever there’s a need, from picking up scrap lumber to passing tools. Every now and then we catch a moment of him singing sweetly to his daughter or interacting with his neighbors and I is clear that he is a warm and loving guy. Madame Genois has also been wonderful.  she checks in on us, is happy to refill a water bottle or two and treats us daily to coffee and fried plantains.  Its amazing how graciously and gratefully they accept our help.  They could just as easily resent it, after all, who are we? Relatively wealthy and privileged Caucasian Americans who have almost no construction experience and only three of us are over the age of 35.  They could easily take our work on their land as a personal slight…are we implying that Genios can’t take care of his family (no, only that he doesn’t have the resources to because the Universe gave him a raw deal).  But these have not been their reactions at all.  They’ve treated us only with kindness and warmth and respect.  It is truly an honor to know them and learn their story.

We’ll report more as more progress is made.  It is tiring work but meaningful and interesting.  Check out the pictures (coming soon) and I think you’ll know what I mean!

More to come…
Rabbi D